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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Helena

There is so much about Helena that is changing right before my eyes. Today, she stood in the middle of the living room, then when I walked out, she apparently proceeded to walk half way across the room. This would be the first time that she went strollin' on her own without any cajoling or persuading. And she has done it twice since. She just stands up and starts walking. Sometimes it is two steps, sometimes it is five. A couple of days ago, she crawled into the kitchen while I was putting away dishes from the dishwasher. She proceeded to take out the silverware, which I left for her, and hand me a spoon. "Hee-ya-go" she says, as plain as the nose on her face, just like she's been throwing out three word combinations on a regular basis. Okay. Then she drops something, and instead of the norm of "UH OH," she says, "Oh NO!" Then we went to the park behind our house yesterday, the older three riding bikes, and Laini not only insisted I put her down and hold her hands so she could walk, she walked all the way down, most of the time there, and all the way back. We must have walked half a mile by the time we got home. She also will NOT be fed anymore.

She just must do it all by herself.

Now, I know it is to be expected. She is nearly 14 months now. And once those first steps happen, there is an explosion of learning and growth. I suppose I thought that maybe, just maybe, since she is my latest walker (Bella was 10 days past 1, and the boys were 10 months), she might take life a little slower than the rest have. Apparently not. I suppose, if she is going to do all of this growing up so quickly, she just better get used to the idea of doing some work around here.

A baby's gotta' pull her own weight in a family with four kids. I'll have the next one tilling by this age...